What Now?
by swimgirl.garces
Summary: A mainly Hodgela centered fanfic with a little bit of B and B goin' on. Can't say too much or I'll give it away, so read on!
1. Chapter 1

Angela kneeled by the edge of the bathtub. She was in the bathroom across from her son's room. A few tears leaked out of her eyes as she looked down at the pregnancy test dropped on the white tiled floor. She hadn't wanted another baby, had she? With Jack losing all of his money to Pelant, she wasn't sure they could even afford one. Also, it's hard enough for them to juggle raising Michael Vincent and work as it is. Another baby would just complicate that. But then there's the new baby smell. That intoxicating, addicting, irresistible smell that even people who don't like children can't get enough of. And there's the first time a baby smiles, or laughs, or rolls over. There's rocking your child to sleep at night, comforting them when they cry. There are all of the perks of being a new parent that all of the money and joy in the world pale in comparison to.

She slowly stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. She had lines forming in the corners of her eyes and on her forehead, but she had a sparkle in her eyes that made any inconsistency on her face insignificant. She wondered what a new baby could look like. Would Michael Vincent have a little sister to protect, or a little brother? Would he or she have Jack's big blue eyes, or his warming smile? Would their baby be a genius like Jack, or an artist like Angela? She shook the thoughts from her mind when she heard Michael crying from his room.

"What's the matter baby?" Angela asked Michael.

He replied as best he could, "My tower".

Angie looked down and saw that he had managed to knock down his lego tower.

"It's okay sweetie, we can build another one, but let's go get lunch first, okay?"

Michael Vincent looked up at his mother who he loved more than anyone and took her hand as they walked down the hallway towards the stairs.

Just as they were getting in the car, Angela's phone rang. She looked at the number and saw it was Temperance Brennan, her best friend and coworker at the Jeffersonian Institute.

Angela answered her phone, "hey sweetie, me and Michael Vincent are running out the door to the Royal Diner for lunch, wanna join us?'

"Sure, Angela. I'll meet you there. "

They hung up their phones and Angela figured out what to tell Brennan as she drove towards the diner.


	2. Chapter 2

Angela saw Brennan taking her daughter, Christine, out of her car seat as she pulled into the diner parking lot. She parked her car next to Brennan's and turned around to Michael already trying to take his seatbelt off. He and Christine were very close to each other despite the fact Christine was almost a year younger than him.

"Slow down buddy!" Angela said to Michael, "Just let me get out of the car and I'll come around and unbuckle you!"

Michael smiled and patiently waited for his mother to come let him out to see his friend.

The four of them walked into the diner together and sat down in a booth.

"So sweetie, how's Booth?" Angela asked Brennan.

"Honestly Ange, I don't really know. Ever since that night he told me we shouldn't get married, he's been avoiding interaction. One might think it's due to the fact that he's feeling embarrassed by his withdrawal of the engagement, but I know Booth. Something else is up, and I just don't know what," Brennan replied. "But let's not let my problems interfere with out lunch. So, did you do it?"

Angela looked at her best friend and debated between lying to her and dodging the question. She decided with the latter. "Do what? I really don't know what you're talking about, Bren. Christine is getting so big! Is she talking a lot?"

Brennan leaned over the table getting closer to Angela. "Oh don't do this Angela! Although I might not possess the most finely tuned social skills, I know when you're trying to avoid telling me something, so spill!"

"Well, Bren, I haven't even talked to Hodgins yet. I should talk to him before I talk to you, right?"

Brennan sat back in her seat. "Ange, you told me you were pregnant with Michael before you told Hodgins, so this shouldn't be any different. In fact, we were in this very diner in this booth. Just tell me, are you pregnant or not?"

"I'm going to step outside and call him right now, then I'll come back to talk to you, okay?"

"Fine, but hurry up! I'm getting impatient!"

Angela dug through her purse for her phone and stepped outside, leaving Brennan to entertain the babies.


	3. Chapter 3

Angela sat down on the bench outside the diner. She looked at all of the people walking around her. She saw a young couple walking a dog. She watched a mother walking with three kids, trying to keep an eye on all of them. She saw an elderly couple strolling hand in hand. She noticed that someday, she could look back at her life and realize that she had been all of these people, on time or another. For her life, she just wanted happiness, something that Michael Vincent and Jack give her. While a baby could be nice, she could still be happy without one. She stood up and called Jack on his cell phone; he was at Booth and Brennan's house helping them remodel.

She walked down the street waiting for him to pick up his phone. She didn't know how to tell him, or even what she was going to say. She didn't have time to form a thought before he answered

"Hey Angie! What's up my beautiful lady?" Jack answered with his always cheerful voice.

"Nothing exciting, really. I'm at the diner with Brennan and the kids."  
"Is everything alright?" Jack answered with alarm. "It's kind of a weird time to call me, no?"

"Oh everything is fine sweetie, it's just that Bren asked me about you know what, and I felt wrong telling her anything before I talked to you." Angela said.

"Oh I see. So… what's up?"

Angela started to ramble, " Well did we… do we… even want a kid? I mean they're expensive, and they're loud.. and… I mean we have one already so do we need another? And yeah they're cute, and fun, but Let's be practical here! We don't have the time or space or money or anything else to raise a kid so... I mean I don't want one… do you? Her voice broke, "Jack, are you there?"

"Hey, baby, it's alright. Slow down. I think a baby would be great. We can do anything, right? And no baby, that's fine too! We have each other, and we have Michael Vincent, so we're set, no? I think that we can handle what ever happens to us, what ever comes our way."

"It was negative. We're not having another baby." Angela hung up the phone, wiped the makeup smeared under her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked back to enjoy lunch with her friend.


	4. Chapter 4

Angela looked up at her clock. She had been vomiting all night. It was 4:47 AM, and she would have to be awake in less than two hours to get Michael Vincent to day care, and then herself to work. She looked at her face in the mirror. She was pale and had sunken, blood shot eyes; she'd had better beauty days. She tried to stand up, but was hit with another wave of dizziness nausea. Once it had passed, she reluctantly got back on her feet and went to get some ginger ale and saltines, her new staple foods. She thought that she must have had some sort of stomach bug or eaten some really bad seafood, because she had been feeling this sick for almost a week. She walked into the kitchen to see Hodgins sitting with some coffee and toast watching the news.

"Jack, why are you awake so early?" Angela asked him groggily.

"I have to go check out some remains they just found down by the river, and I didn't want to wake you because you looked so tired last night. You know, Ange, you still don't look very good, maybe worse. How do you feel? Maybe you should just take a sick day or two. I can take Michael to daycare if you want a day to sleep it off without being disturbed by a two year old." Jack said.

"Yeah, I'm feeling kind of dizzy and nauseous. I'm really tired too, but no thanks sweetie. While I would like more than anything to sleep the rest of my day, or life, I really need to go in too if they found remains. They're gonna need a face for the body."

"I'm sure they can make do for a day without you, babe. And I'm sure the remains won't mind; I hear they're pretty patient. You should just go back to bed."

"Okay," Angela finally agreed, " But I'm going to get some crackers and…"

Before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed.


	5. Chapter 5

Angela woke up to white. White lights, white walls, white curtains, white machines. She moved her arm to brush hair out of her face and noticed that she had an IV placed.

"Jack," she said with audibility just above a whisper.

Jack looked up from the chair he had pulled beside her bed. "Ange? I'm right here babe. You're okay. It's okay. I'm right here." Hodgins assured her.

"Where… what happened?"

"Well, you were really badly dehydrated and malnourished from eating and drinking so little for the past few days, and your body couldn't take it anymore. You're okay now. I promise."  
"Where's Michael? Is he okay? Who's watching him?"

"He's fine, babe. Brennan took him out. She just brought him and Christine to the playground and for some ice cream. Don't worry. Everything is all taken care of. You should be all set to go home tomorrow."

With that, the doctor knocked on the door and said, "Good morning, Mrs. Montenegro. Glad to see you're awake and cognitive. We have a little bit to discuss."

The couple was really confused as to what the doctor was referring to, but they shifted their body angles towards the doctor and waited for him to start talking.

"So, you're labs from just now look much better than they did yesterday. You're electrolytes are all up to an almost normal level, so you'll be ready to go home tomorrow morning. We'd like to keep you just a little longer due to the, uh, extenuating circumstances, which brings me to this." The doctor pointed to a single box on her chart. Next to Preg., it was marked with a little plus sign.

"No, that's not right. I took a test recently and it was negative. That can't be right. I'm not pregnant." Angela muttered.

"Often home pregnancy tests are inaccurate and give a false negative or a false positive. You could have taken it too early, or it could have been contaminated. There are lots of things that could have happened, but the point is that the hospital blood test does not give an inaccurate result. Mrs. Montenego, you're pregnant."


	6. Chapter 6

Angela looked at Jack. They both started to cry. Maybe it was the lack of sleep and delirium, but they were unable to express themselves in any other way at that moment.

The doctor looked at them and said, "Well, if this is not something you want... you have plenty of options. There's adoption, and then there's abortion..."

He was cut off by Jack, "No! This is exactly what we wanted. We're happy." He looked over at Angela, waiting for her to speak. "This is what we wanted. Neither one of us said it aloud, but this is what we wanted."

"Well, I'll leave you two to discuss. I'll be back later tonight to go over your latest blood tests. Have a good day, guys."

They looked at each other, happier than they had been in the longest time. With the whole Pelant ordeal, they hadn't had a lot of time to enjoy together, or even spend together at all. Now that they have a new baby coming, they would find the time; they had to.

After a few moments, a nurse came in with an ultrasound machine and asked Angela, "So, Mrs. Montenegro, do you know how far along you might be?"

"Angela thought for a moment, then said, "Well, I guess it's been two months since I took the test, and I hadn't had a period in eight weeks at that point, so 16 or 17 weeks I think?"

"Alrighty then, hon. I'm gonna do an ultrasound to make sure the baby's looking good and healthy. You know, you're baby can hear you speak now; he or she has little ear bones developing. If he or she's at the right angle, we might even be able to see whether you're having a boy or a girl! Do you two want to know yet? Also," The nurse paused for a moment, "I read in the chart about the genetic disorder you're both carriers for, so you should consider an amnio."

They looked at each other for a little while and Jack avoided the sensitive topic of the amnio by asking, "Well, Ange, do you want to know gender? I think I do. That way, when everybody back at the lab asks us what color clothes to buy, we can give them an answer. What do you say?"

"No, yeah, sweetie, that's good. We should find out." She looked over at the nurse. "So… about the amnio, will we be able to see if our baby is blind? Or are we going to have to wait again?"

The nurse replied, "Actually, yes. We can look for that gene as well as other ones. However, there is a certain risk associated with amniocentesis, and it's increased with twins. You guys should think this through before you make any decisions."

Angela sighed. "Okay. I think, maybe... I think we should do the amnio, as well as find out the gender right now. Jack?"

"Whatever you want, babe. Let's do it."

"Sleep on it, and you can let us know tomorrow, or the day after. We have a few weeks before it's too late. Now, for the fun part! Let's take a look at your baby!"

The Nurse spread the cool jelly over Angela's lower abdomen and turned the machine on, pressing the wand to her stomach.


	7. Chapter 7

A strong, rapid thumping filled the room.

"That's your baby's heart beat. It sounds good and strong." The nurse said with a smile.

Suddenly, a look of shock filled her face. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth fell open, "Oh! Oh wow. Well you guys aren't going to believe this…"

Jack asked in a panicked tone, "Is something wrong with our baby? Please don't tell us there's anything wrong…"

"Oh no sweetheart! There's nothing wrong. From what I can see, you have some very healthy looking babies in there."

"Babies? As in... plural? What do you mean by babies?" Angela slowly questioned.

"Well, it looks like you're having twins... Girls. Twin girls! Congratulations!"

Angela started to cry again.

"Oh, babe, this is a good thing! It's going to be twice as fun, raising two little girls," He leaned into her, "Don't worry. We can do this. Imagine how happy Michael is going to be! Don't worry, baby." Jack soothed.

"No, sweetie, I'm not upset, I'm ecstatic! I've always wanted a little girl, and two is even better. But now we've given my dad two more opportunities for terrible names!" Angie joked.

"I hadn't even thought of that. I guess we have one name from when we didn't know whether Michael was a girl or a boy, Catherine Temperance, but we still need another name." Jack said.

"We have time to come up with another name, 5 months actually."

Angela looked at the nurse with a worried expression on her face, "If I'm fairly far along, and I'm having twins… why am I not really showing? I mean I just thought I had been hitting the cookies too much lately or I was a little bloated… I don't look nearly half way through a pregnancy with twins… are they okay? Are they small? Could there be something wrong with them?"

The nurse soothingly replied, "Oh no sweetheart. They're a little small, but then again there are two of 'em in there, so you can't expect them to be the same size as a single baby. They both have strong heartbeats, and they're within the normal size range. I'd say you're grownin' two healthy little girls. As for you, you're tall and thin, and often women with your build show later and less visibly as shorter women. Everything looks just fine." The nurse changed her demeanor to more serious, " We do have to talk about the amnio, though, so when can you come in? I think you should both be here, if you can. That is, if you decide you want to do it. I'm gonna go and get the doctor, and he'll go over the procedure and risks with you so you can make a decision. See you in a few weeks for your next ultrasound!"

The nurse left the room, and moments later the doctor came in. He pulled up a chair across from Jack, "So, we have some to discuss, let's get started."


	8. Chapter 8

The doctor began, "So, let's start with the basics. As you already know, an amniocentesis is a procedure where I take a long, thin needle and insert it through your uterus to collect a couple tablespoons of amniotic fluid. I can get a nice karyotype from this fluid which will show us if your babies have certain genetic disorders. Since you two both carry the LCA gene, there might be others, which is why I'm recommending this test. Any questions so far?"

Angela and Jack took a few seconds to process what the doctor had just told them, and then Angela asked, "How badly does it hurt?"

"Well, it depends on the person and the procedure, really. Most women say it is slightly uncomfortable, but not unbearable. I wouldn't know, though, since I've never had one!" The doctor joked.

Angela let out a feigned laugh, and motioned for the doctor to continue talking.

"Alrighty. So, our main concern as far as risks would be miscarriage. It's about a 1 in 300 chance in a normal pregnancy, though it's a bit higher due to the fact that you're carrying twins. Now, the good thing is that you're at the safest point to do it; done before 15 weeks and the risk would be even higher. There's also a small chance of needle injury to one of the babies, but that rarely happens, and if it does it's hardly ever serious. You guys need to think about whether you want to take the risks, or if you're willing to wait until they're born to see."

"I think we should take some more time to discuss and decide, right Ange?" Jack asked.

"I think so too. We should talk at home and sleep on our decision, I think," Angela said, "Maybe we should ask my father and Bren what they think?"

Jack thought for a minute, "Well, Brennan would give us a very rational answer, basically just restating what the doctor told us, and your father wouldn't have too much helpful input I don't think. But we can ask them if you want."

"No, you're right. It's our decision anyway, not theirs," Angela turned to the doctor, " So can I go home yet? I'd really like to sleep in my own bed, and I feel much better now."

The doctor looked over her charts and thought for a moment, "I don't see why not. Take it easy for a couple of days, and make sure you're eating and drinking unless you want to visit us again!"

"Will do. I can go back to work tomorrow, though? I don't have a very strenuous job."

"That should be fine, but if you start feeling sick again, go home and relax. This pregnancy is going to be a little different than your first due to the fact that you're carrying twins. You're going to be a little more tired and be a little more incapacitated, but you'll be fine, especially with Jack as your husband. I'm sure he'll do whatever it is you need," He paused for a moment, "Well, I have some other patients to get to. I'll have a nurse bring you the discharge papers. See you in a few weeks!"

Angela fell back onto her bed and sighed.

Jack kissed her on the cheek and whispered, "We can handle anything, baby. Don't forget that. Because you and I, we're unstoppable."


	9. Chapter 9

"It's a really slim chance, Jack! Odds are, we're going to do the procedure, and there will be no side effects, no miscarriage, no needle damage, no nothing! I think it's important to know whether our babies can SEE or not!" Angela yelled.

"You hear that something has a one in a thousand chance or one in 10,000. But I guess it's like the lottery, right? Someone always wins, you know? That could be us! We could be that one, who, who loses their babies over a procedure that's completely unnecessary! Why would we risk that? So we find out they're blind, then what? It's not going to change anything! When they're born, they're still going to be blind, and they're still going to be ours! I just don't want to risk losing them over something that just won't change anything!" Jack fired back.

They had been sitting at the kitchen table taking turns yelling for 45 minutes.

"We have the opportunity to spare ourselves the stress of wondering if they're blind we had with Michael, and if they are, we have the opportunity to prepare! Why don't you want that?"

"Of course I want that, Ange, but I also want two babies, whether they can see or not. This procedure might take that away from us! It's just not worth it. Nothing is going to be able to prepare us! It's going to be hard whether we expect it or we don't!"

Angela's hard, angry expression softened into pain and misery as she began to sob, "What am I thinking? I'm…. not. I'm not thinking. You're right," She took in a deep breath and slowly let it back out, "Whether we know if they're going to be blind or not won't change anything. I'm just, hanging on to any possibility of them being perfect, which an amnio can show us. But I guess I'm not really thinking about the fact that it can also show us the opposite. Knowing ahead of time that they're blind won't make them any less blind. I think… that you're right. We should just wait and find out when they're born."

Jack stood up and walked around the table. He wrapped his arms around Angela from behind and leaned into her, kissing a line from her collarbone up to her ear.

"Whether our babies are perfect to everyone else or not, they'll be perfect to me; to us. They'll still be our little princesses, even if they don't know what we look like. They'll be able to hear us, and feel our love, and understand all of the things we're going to do to make them the happiest little girls in the world. They won't need sight to know how much we love them. They'll just know."


	10. Chapter 10

Michael's crying could be heard three houses away.

"Hey, baby, it's okay. Tell mommy what's wrong. Don't cry, baby. Please stop crying," Angela pleaded as she held him in her arms, bouncing him. After three days of nonstop hysteria, she couldn't take it anymore, "I's okay. I'm gonna call dada and he's gonna come right home from work, k?" Angela sighed and put Michael back in his crib.

"Ange?" Jack said when he picked up the phone, "Is everything alright?"

"No, it's not actually. Michael hasn't stopped crying yet, and I think he still has a fever. He seems really sick, Jack. I think you should come home so we can take him to the doctor. " She replied.

"Not a problem. I'm on my way home right now. I'll be there in ten minutes, tops. Get him dressed and put his shoes on, then meet me outside. I won't even get out of the car."

"Okay. See you in a few."

Angela hung up the phone. She looked at her crying baby and wondered how she was going to handle two more, especially if they were blind.

"It's alright, baby, let's get dressed and go meet dada outside," She cooed at him, "It's okay baby. Stop crying. I know you don't feel good, but please stop crying." She begged.

She got his shoes and coat on and took him by the hand to bring him down the stairs, but he refused to walk.

"C'mon baby, please just come with mommy. We're going to the doctor! He's gonna make you feel better!"

Michael sat at the top of the stairs, making it clear that he was not willing to walk. Angela gave in and picked him up, trying to find a comfortable position to hold him in around her growing belly.

It took a few minutes to get down the stairs due to how slow Angela was moving, and by the time she had made it to the bottom, Michael had stopped crying and had fallen asleep.

She stepped outside just as Jack pulled into the driveway. He hopped out of the car and ran to Angela to take Michael from her, seeing as she could barely reach around her stomach to hold him. It had been less than a month since her ultrasound, but she had nearly doubled in size.

"Oh, wow Ange, he doesn't look good. Hopefully it's not too contagious, since you've been spending so much time taking care of him…" Jack said.

"Yeah, that would stink. It's been a few days though and I don't have any symptoms, so I think I'm okay." Angela replied.

"Well let's hope so," Jack said, "Anyway let's get him buckled up and head over to the hospital; I called the pediatrician, but she's not around today. She said that since he's had a fever for so long, we should take him to get checked out immediately.''

They buckled him into his car seat and headed for the hospital, Michael still sound asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

A nurse put the three of them in a room and took Michael Vincent's vitals.

"So, he still has a fever, and his heart rate is higher than what's expected. And you said he's been really fatigued? He looks very pale," The nurse said, "I'm going to get someone to come in here and draw some blood. She'll be right in."

Jack and Angela exchanged worried glances; things don't usually move this quickly unless the health care practitioners are concerned.

There was a knock at the door, and a pretty, blonde, young doctor let herself into the room.

"Hi there, Mrs. Montenegro and Mr. Hodgins, I'm Dr. Freedman. And hi buddy, you must be Michael!" She turned towards the parents, " So I'm gonna need to draw a bit of blood from him, do you mind distracting him in some way? It doesn't hurt, but when kids see a needle they tend to freak."

"Hey, buddy," Jack said, "Let's count the racecars over there on the wall, see them? Yeah how many do you think there are?" He continued until Dr. Freedman had what she needed.

"I'm going to get a rush on these tests, but it still may take a while. Make yourselves confortable."

A knock woke them from their very short nap.

"Let's talk," Dr. Freedman said as she entered the room, "I just got the results from the CBC, and… I'm concerned. Michael has a very high white blood cell count, but a very low red blood cell count. I also looked at a smear and achieved similar results. And with his other symptoms... I'm not sure if you know what this means… Do I need to explain it further?" She asked.

"No," Angela croaked, "We know exactly what that means." Her eyes became red and glassy, and her voice waivered as she asked, "So are you doing the bone marrow biopsy right now? Or are we going to wait until tomorrow?" She no longer had any control over her emotions. She fell into Jack's arms, heaving and shaking with heavy, loud cries. When Angela was able to compose herself, Dr. Freedman spoke again, "I'd like to do it right now, if you don't mind. Let's just get it over with."

"Of course I don't mind," Angela agreed, "Let's just get it over with."

She picked up Michael Vincent who had fallen back asleep, and cradled him in her arms and she walked toward the path lab.


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay Angela if you could lay Michael down with his head towards the door, that would be really helpful," Dr. Freedman said, "Now I'm going to put him under a general anesthesia. It's going to put him to sleep, and he won't wake up until it's over. He won't feel any pain, or even remember any of this."

Angela did as Dr. Freedman asked. She looked at her sick baby and thought about the two potentially blind little girls who would be joining their family in three short months. She didn't even have names for them, let alone even thought about a nursery. How could she handle it all? Either her or Jack would have to quit their jobs, and they would have to downgrade their home, and they would probably never see a sandy beach vacation again.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Dr. Freedman, "Okay so here's what going to happen; I'm going to do the aspiration and bone marrow biopsy now, while he's lying on his stomach. Then, I'll flip him onto his side and do a spinal tap. He's gonna be out cold the whole time, won't remember a thing…" She kept talking, but Angela stopped listening. All she could hear were her own thoughts whirling through her head; what if he dies? What if he doesn't die, but is sick for the rest of his life? What if on top of this, the girls are blind? What if we go into debt trying to pay all of the medical bills? What if we aren't unstoppable? What if we can't do it all?


	13. Chapter 13

Angela and Hodgins sat wrapped around Michael in the hospital bed awaiting the results of his tests. While he slept, they whispered about the worst-case scenario and how to handle it. Angela was going to quit her job at the Jeffersonian if that's what it came down to, and to make extra money she would scrape together time to paint. They would move into a two bedroom apartment, one room for the kids and one for her and Jack. They would move closer to the Jeffersonian so Jack could walk to work and save money on commute. They worked through all of the problems that could arise.

Dr. Freedman then came in with a grim expression on her face. She didn't have to say anything; they knew what was coming next.

"Jack, Angela, I have some unfortunate news about Michael. He has…"

Angela cut her off, "Please don't say it out loud. If you don't say it, it's not real. Just give us a few minutes. Please."

"Jack looked at what was left his wife. A few weeks ago, they had it all; now all that remained was a shattered skeleton of what they used to be. "Ange," Jack soothed, "Whether she says it now, or in five minutes, it's real. This is happening, and there is nothing we can do to avoid it. Now, all we can do is fight."

"He's right, Angela," Dr. Freedman said, "We need to talk about the treatment plan. Childhood Leukemia, when caught early like this, is successfully treated 95% of the time. Michael has a very strong chance of being just fine in a few months, but we need to start treatment now."

Angela closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath and then released it. She nodded her head and reopened her eyes, "Okay. Let's talk. What can we do to make my baby better?"


	14. Chapter 14

"Chemotherapy," Dr. Freedman explained, "Is really the only thing I'm recommending. We start with phase one, induction. Our goal here is to kill off all of the bad cells. This is about a month of fairly intense treatment. I have to warn you, he's going to be a different kid until we lessen the chemo. He'll probably lose his hair, he'll become very pale, maybe slightly yellow, and he'll be tired and uncomfortable all the time. I can assure you, though, that it'll b worth it when this time next year, he's running around playing with those two little girls. "

Angela lip quivered as she let a few tears, "Will we be able to see him?" Angela asked.

"Due to your pregnancy, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be near him. You can see him through the glass, but I would rather you not be in the room with him considering you're both high-risk patients," Dr. Freedman said, "If one of you were to get sick, the other would get it without a doubt, so I think it would be in both of your best interests to remain separated for the duration of Michael's chemotherapy."

Angela started to cry again. With the amount of crying she'd done in the past few months, she wondered how she had any tears left.

"Hey, Ange," Jack soothed, "I'll be in there, and I can give him enough love for the both of us. It's gonna be okay, babe. You'll be able to see and talk to him, just no skin to skin for a little while. It's gonna be okay. I promise, baby. It's gonna be okay."

Dr. Freedman gave Angela time to collect herself before she continued, "After this first phase, we go into phase two, consolidation. We're going to give him a bunch of different medicines to kill any abnormal cells that might be lingering," She paused for a second and then continued, "at this point in time, your girls will probably already have been born. I strongly suggest saving their cord blood. We can extract stem cells from it to give to Michael, which will greatly improve his chance at remission."

"Okay, let's do it then. How do we-" Angela was cut off by Jack, "Slow down, Ange, what if we use it for Michael, and the girls need it someday? What will we do then?"

She glared at him.

"We can't save it for a 'what if' when we have a child who needs it in the moment!" Angela yelled.

"I'm just saying, maybe we should think about this a little more, you know? Rather than just being so impulsive..."

"Yeah, and while we're thinking about it, Michael is going to die. Is that what you want? And then when the girls don't ever need it, how will you feel then?"

"Relax, Ange. I was just making a suggestion. If you think we should use it for Michael, then I am 100% on board."

Angela sighed and silently apologized.

"Well, now that you've made that decision… we still have one more phase of the chemo to discuss, " Dr. Freedman said, "We'll do one more 2-3 month blast of medication to make sure we killed everything, and then we'll check up on him every few months for a few years. If he's still in remission at that point, we can put this in the past. Any questions?''

"Just one," Angie said, "When can we start?"


	15. Chapter 15

"Because!" Brennan yelled, "Angela is my best friend, and Michael Vincent is like my own child! If it were Christine being sent to a hospital all the way across the country for treatment, I would want Angela there with me. I wouldn't want to do it alone!" She sat down at the kitchen island and picked up her phone, "I am leaving for Seattle on Thursday, Christine is coming with me, and if you would like to join us, Booth, you're more than welcome." She looked up the phone number of the Marriott nearest Sloan-Grey Memorial Hospital and made a reservation for a single room.

"Why do you do this, Bones? When it gets hard, when it gets a little murky, a little sticky, you run." Booth said with a sigh.

"Oh don't go there with me, Booth! You KNOW that I had to leave, or I was going to be arrested! And now- I'm fine. We're- fine. I'm not running-" She was cut off by Booth, "Don't lie to me, Bones. We're not fine. You're not fine. But, running away, that's not gonna make it better. When you come back from Seattle, if you come back, everything is going to be exactly how you left it. You're upset with me, I know, believe me, I know, But also believe me when I say this, the last thing I want is for you to be hurting and I want you to know, I need for you to know, that what I'm doing, it's for you. Everything I do, it's all for you. I love you, Bones. I need you to know that."

Booth started walking towards the stairs, "I'm not going to Seattle, but when you come back, I'll be here. I will always be here."

He went up stairs and Brennan heard the bedroom door close. She wiped the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, picked up Christine and her suitcase, and walked out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Alrighty so here we have a little split action; first is what Booth was up to, followed by Brennan. It's simultaneous. **_

* * *

Booth sighed and sunk onto his bed. It hurt him to see Brennan in so much pain, and he wanted to confess to her why he called off the engagement more than anything, but he could never live with himself if he was responsible for the death of so many innocent people. He was just going to have to hope that they caught Pelant soon.

He picked up his phone and tried to call Brennan, but she didn't answer. Again he tried, but it went straight to voicemail.

"So she's ignoring my calls," He said aloud to himself, "Great. Just great."

He got up and went downstairs. He wandered from room to room of his empty house, remembering all of the best times he had enjoyed with his family. He got to the kitchen, and remembered the time he and Brennan had danced to "Hot Blooded" with Christine. He had told her that, "Every couple has a song". "Hot Blooded" was theirs. He wanted more than anything to go back to that time in his life, when things weren't so complicated, when he wasn't at risk of losing his family.

Family meant everything to Booth. He tried his hardest to get custody of Parker, and when he didn't, he tried his hardest to get as much visitation as possible. When Rebecca decided to take him abroad, it nearly killed Booth. Now that he could be losing Christine and Brennan, he would have nobody left.

He abruptly wiped the sorrow from his thoughts and changed his went to the computer and looked up the address of the nearest casino. He grabbed his wallet and car keys. He Almost left his phone on the table but then turned it off and forced it deep into his pocket, then practically ran out the front door.

* * *

Brennan saw she was getting a call from Booth, but she had to turn her phone off because it was dying and she needed it in case she got lost later. She wasn't really mad at him; she was confused, but mostly upset. Yes, she was the one who originally didn't believe in marriage, but she knew Booth always had. She had finally come to realize why, but it was too late; Booth didn't want to marry her anymore.

'That's the only explanation,' she said to herself out loud, "He must not be too sure about it anymore, about us anymore. I guess, Booth has just, moved on from me."

Christine cooed, "Dada!"

"Yes, Christine," Brennan sighed, "Booth is your dada".

She knew that he would never move on from Christine; Booth was a family man. But as for her, he wouldn't have any qualms about moving on. When she denied him a few years back, he quickly found Hannah. And now, nothing was different. They had no ties other than Christine.

Brennan shook the thoughts from her mind and put in a children's CD for Christine, listening to her child giggle and sing along to songs about elephants and bananas.

'She's all I need', Brennan thought. 'I'll be fine without Booth. I had been fine alone for so long…' she paused, ' I can be fine again'.

* * *

_**Be a doll and leave a review, would ya? **_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	17. Chapter 17

Angela was sitting outside waiting for Brennan when she pulled into the hotel parking lot. Brennan pulled into a spot and ran over to her best friend. Angela sunk into her and started crying.

"Oh. It's okay, Angela. Don't cry," Brennan soothed. She tried her hardest to console her friend, though she really wasn't good at being emotional.

When Angela was able to compose herself, she pulled away from Brennan and told her exactly what the treatment was for Michael, "We're doing three rounds of chemo. First one is to kill off the malignant cells, second is to get rid of any that might have lingered, third is to make sure they got everything and nothing comes back."

She started to cry again, "Bren, I don't think I can do this. I'm not even allowed to be in the room with him. My poor baby is going to be sick and uncomfortable, but the best I can do is- is press my hand to the glass wall separating us…" Uncontrollable sobs shook her entire body as she sunk to the ground and sat down on the curb.

"Ange," Brennan said smoothly, "Michael isn't going to be alone. Hodgins will be in there with him, and so will I. We'll just tell them I'm your sister, and therefore Michaels aunt, so they'll let me into the room."

Angela let out a small laugh, "Sweetie, incase you haven't noticed, you're white and I'm Chinese; we don't look anything alike."

"So we'll say I'm adopted! This is the 21st century, Ange, multiracial families are actually quite common."

"Okay, sweetie, thank you. I couldn't do this without you," Angela said to her best friend.

"Well, that is highly improbable. Though you would be much more miserable without me, and perhaps find it more difficult to remain emotionally stable without a friend to confide in, I don't believe my presence is that impactful on your ability to support your son through such a difficult time."

"Sweetie, this is where you say you're welcome," Angela said with a laugh, "It's good to know some things never change, even when everything else around them does."

"I do not know what you mean by that, but you're welcome."

"Yeah, okay. Let's go get some dinner. Christine looks pretty tired. If you want, she can stay in the room Hodgins and you can tell me what's going on with you and Booth," Angela said.

Brennan sighed, and brought Christine up to Hodgins and Angela's room and put her to bed. She said goodnight to them and walked out to meet Angela, trying to figure out how to put into words what was happening between her and Booth.


	18. Chapter 18

"Alright sweetie, spill," Angela said to Brennan as she leaned toward her friend over the dinner table.

"I don't have much to say, really," Brennan replied, "I really don't know what's going on. In one moment, we were happy, and, I mean we were getting married, You know? Everything just felt- right, I guess. But then without logical explanation, suddenly- suddenly he decided that we shouldn't get married, and everything just sort of fell apart from there. I don't understand his reasoning, mainly because he doesn't have any," She sighed and sat back in her chair, "When I asked him what he was thinking, he said it was because he was worried I was being impulsive and irrational. I don't do impulsive and irrational. He knows that." Her eyes became glossy as she held back tears as best she could.

Angela nodded her head in understanding, "Well, Bren," she said, "I can't offer up much useful advice to you right now, but what I can tell you," She looked her friend in the eyes, "Is that you can't give up on him just yet. Believe me, I'm beyond pissed at him for what he's doing to you, but I also know Booth, and I also have an outsider's perspective," She stopped talking for a moment to collect her thoughts, "I know Booth; there is something else to this that he's not telling you, but I don't think you should ask him. He'll tell you when he can. You just have to trust him, because he loves you; you and I both know that."

Brennan half smiled and said, "Wow, Ange, I thought you just told me that you didn't have any useful advice for me. That was pretty good."

"Yeah, well what can I say? I'm just full of great advice," Angela said with a chuckle.

"I should call him back, Booth I mean," Brennan said, "He called me while I was on the road, but I turned my phone off to save the battery. I'll be right back."

She stepped outside away from the boisterous restaurant and dialed his number, and was shocked to hear an intoxicated Booth answer the phone.

* * *

"Tem-pur-ence Brennnannnannannanaan," Booth yelled with glee through the phone, "What'rr you doin heeere?" He cackled with delight, "Ohhh whooopsss! Immeeeaaannnntt, why'rr youcallin' me?"

Brennan could hardly hear him due to all of the noise in the background, "Booth? Where are you? What are you doing? I can barely hear you!"

"Ohhh ya know where iam?" He slurred, "I'M INA CASINO! LOTSSA BEER AND WHISSHKY AND-" He paused and giggled, "GAAAAAMBLIN! Saayy Tem-pur-ence, youshoul come an joinme! Iss lotssa fuuun!"

"Oh no, Booth, please tell me you didn't say gambling. Booth, what are you doing?" She yelled into the phone.

"Yeesshh Tem-pur-ence, I sayyed GGAAAMMBLLIINN! Loottssa gaambllinn and whisshhky!" He giggled again, "lottsha whisshky!" He paused to burp, " Say, Tem-pur-ence, whydontcha bring ma girl Cristine by tsee me? Itwould be soooo muchfun!"

"No, Seeley, I don't think that's a good idea. Where are your car keys? Where even are you?"

"Ohhh Tem-pur-ence, neeeever knows howta have awittle wittle fuuun!This meeean meeean grumpy man whosgivin me lottsa drinks stole my keys frumme! Saaayyy mr. keeey stealer... whereamI?" Booth asked, "Oh! Didya hear that, Tem-pur-ence, I'M IN VVEEEEGAS! How'd I getaalllll the way here? I dunno! Whooooops!" He laughed again.

"Booth! How did you get all the way from DC to Vegas? I understand I drove all the way to Seattle which took a few days, but Vegas? Did you take a plane?"

"Yeeeeeeee thaaatsright Tem-pee! I fleew alllll the waay!" He slurred, "And I'm ain't never goingbackta DEEECEEE! Have funin SEEEATTEEEL FORE'VR!"

He hung up the phone.

Brennan processed what had just happened, all of the things Booth had said, as tears started to form in her eyes. She couldn't believe what had just happened; her life really was falling apart.


	19. Chapter 19

Brennan blinked away the tears and took a deep breath before rejoining Angela.

She wandered into the restaurant with a dazed look in her eyes, which Angela picked up on immediately.

"Um, earth to Brennan! Sweetie, can you even hear me? What did Booth say?" Angela questioned.

"He…um… he was inebriated… completely inebriated…" She stammered detachedly, ''and he was gambling."

Angela's jaw dropped open and her eyes widened.

Brennan blinked a few times and furrowed her eyebrows, "Booth hardly drinks. His father was an alcoholic, so Booth doesn't ever get drunk…"

"Well sweetie, I think he's really stressed out right now, and since you left with Christine, he just.. cracked."

"Booth is gambling," Brennan repeated, mostly to herself, "And it's my fault."

"Oh no, Bren, it's not your fault! I mean, you're not there! There's nothing you can do." Angela said.

"I have to go back," Brennan said, matter of fact, then louder and more forcibly, "I have to go back. I have to help Booth. He can't do this alone."

"Hate to break it to you, sweetie, but you're on opposite sides of a veeery large country."

"Actually, Booth is in Las Vegas, and I could fly since I won't have Christine or many personal items."

"Wait, what? Booth is in Vegas? I could go for a little drinkin' and dancin' in the casinos! Totally jealous right now. Well, I guess not so jealous since he's feeding an addiction…and mocktails aren't half as fun as alcohol..."

Brennan ignored her comment, "Michael doesn't start chemo until Wednesday, and it's Saturday. I could be back by tomorrow night at the earliest, which would leave plenty of time. I'm going to get him, and I'm going to bring him to Seattle."

Brennan left the restaurant, with Angela hurriedly waddling after her.

When they arrived at the hotel, Brennan packed a light bag, then booked a plane ticket and a night in a hotel in Las Vegas.

She went back up to Jack and Angela's room to beg them to watch Christine until she returned, and to her delight, they agreed without hesitation. Angela's only request was for Brennan to bring her back a stripper and some fojitos.

Brennan walked over to Christine and picked up her toddler, "Hey, Christine, mommy's going to go bring dada here, okay? I promise I'll be back very soon. You will stay with Michael and Auntie Ange and Uncle Jack until then, okay? Be a good girl for me."

Christine smiled at her mother, and Brennan was sure she understood what she has said.

She gave Christine to Hodgins, thanked them one more time, and left for the airport.


End file.
